The purpose of the present invention is to provide a book which presents depictions of three dimensional objects in an educational and/or entertaining way. The prior art, of course, has accomplished this goal by several different means, none of which is as elegant or effective as the present invention.
One prior art system which is often seen is the "pop-up" book. In this system, as a book is opened to a particular page, one or more figures spring upward from that page as a result of the natural rigidity of the material from which the figures are made and the cuts and folds disposed in the figures. When that particular page is turned, the figures fold flat and new figures on the next page spring upward. An example of a pop-up book is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 2,544,783 issued to William B. Freedman, et al.
Another book system for depicting three dimensional objects is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,176,473 issued to Donald A. Rae. In the Rae system, the book comprises a plurality of thin, flat pages each having a peripheral frame which combine to hold one or more molded figurines. The frame extends outward from the front and back surfaces of the page and has a thickness on each side which is at least one-half the thickness of the figurines. The thin, flat portion of the page has a cut out portion which conforms in size and shape to the profile of the figurine it is adapted to receive. The figurine is removably engaged within the cut out by friction. The flat portion of the page must be made of a stiff material, as must the frame. In another embodiment, Rae teaches that the pages may be made without a border, provided that each page is made at least as thick as the figurine. A space for the figurine is dug out from the thick page. In still another embodiment, the individual pages may be thin, but successive pages, having a total thickness equal to the thickness of the figurine, have cut outs to accommodate the figurine. No matter which embodiment is used, the Rae book is very thick and can hold only a relatively few figurines.
The prior art also includes books having multiple pages, all or part of each page formed of clear, flat plastic printed with graphics illustrating cross-sectional views of various subjects.